Izzy, Heather, Jasmine, Sadie, and Rayn are just some of the lovely tiger ladies who call Rescue Ridge home! Rescue Ridge was constructed during our Mountainburg Rescue that required us to provide 34 big cats a home, which meant building 20 new habitats in only 128 days! Since then, Rescue Ridge has become Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge's "retirement community." The flat ground is easy to navigate for animal residents who have health issues, such as arthritis and/or limb deformities like Izzy and Sadie, who were cruelly declawed in such a poor manner (not that there is such a thing as a positive declaw) that shards of bone tend to grow through their paw pads. Other animals, like Heather, have joint pain due to old age and the terrain at Ridge allows this otherwise healthy tiger to remain active.
Other animal residents move to Rescue Ridge if they are anxious or afraid of crowds. We are grateful for those who support our brave Exotic Pet Trade Survivors by visiting, but as a true sanctuary, the well-being of those who call the Refuge home comes first. That's why Rescue Ridge is not included as part of normal tours; minimizing foot traffic helps big cats, like Jasmine, who would get stressed out by hoards of admirers, stay relaxed and healthy. Jasmine was rehomed from an out-of-state zoo and allegedly had two major fears: crowds (especially children) and strollers. While we're not sure where these fears stem from (it was alleged that she may have been used for cub petting at some point), we respect her needs. Like humans, a tiger's mental health is tied to their physical health!
These brave beauties each have their own unique purr-sonalities and even their own unique ways of "chuffing." As we mentioned above, Rescue Ridge is not part of our normal tour for tigers who don't do well with large groups, but smaller parties can book Exclusive Tours to visit Sadie, Jasmine, Heather, Izzy and all who reside at Ridge:
To Adopt/Sponsor A Rescue Ridge Resident:
To Support All of TCWR's Animal Residents:
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